The Juice Box

Rating: 5 out of 5 bottles of water!

Rating: 5 out of 5 bottles of water.

by Mike Ebelhar

On my first adventure to London, I had heard wild reviews about Sunday afternoons, “S.L.A.G.S / CHILL-OUT Sundays” at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, coining it “the place to be” to round out a weekend of hard fun. After a first wild ride at the RVT on Friday night, I was not quite sure what to expect from this T-Dance featuring “The Dame Edna Experience”. Expecting a long line of regulars in line to enter the tavern, and with it being such a small space, we headed down ’round two in the afternoon to pick up our wristbands early to come in through the smoking exit later and avoid the queue. About 5 we headed back down to the tavern, and entered to find the place quickly filling up. The crowd held many familiar faces I’d seen from over the weekend, and they were a very jovial bunch. We got our groove on to some great uplifting beats from Simon Le Vans before the show started.

And the show. Wow. I was a little bit apprehensive when I was told that the “show” was a drag performance, “The Dame Edna Experience”. I tend to sort of dismiss many drag performances… much of the same lip syncing and other drudgery. Edna, however, blew out of the water any other drag show I have ever seen. A combination of quick wit comedy with some outstanding renditions of melodies that had the entire tavern singing along – from the B-52′s to an astounding rendition of Adele, with a smashing finale of “I Just Wanna Dance”, no lip synching required. Edna created a show that most drag queens back home could only dream to accomplish.

After the show, we got down to fuckin’ dancing to the sweet sounds of Andy Almighty. The lights went low, the lasers flashing, and the crowd rompous. The small little tavern of the RVT seemed to transform into a booming, sprawling nightclub. And it felt comfortable, and everyone danced well into the evening. Andy’s rendition of Leona Lewis’s “Collide” provided a sense of tight layering that was reminiscent of his major influence, Marc Andrews, and was simply a fantastic take on one of my favorite songs to throw my hands in the air to. His new mix of Nicole Scherzinger’s ‘Try With Me’ was also a huge hit with the crowd. Around 10pm, Sean Sirrs took the decks and brought us a fantastic progressive house and trance set to round out a blissful evening on the dance floor.

This weekly party is definitely a must if you’re in London. My first Sunday at the RVT has me begging for more – I can’t wait until next weekend.

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Tags: RVT